Regarding the DADA Professor
by YouActivatedMyTrapCard
Summary: Dumbledore is pressured by the minestry to chose a DADA professor, and quickly choses one in an attempt to foil the Minestry's Plans. The new professor seems to have a lot of secrets. A few too many if you ask Harry... T just in case. AU after 4th year.
1. The Letter

**Regarding The DADA Professor...**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, all you see is an illusion

**Chapter 1:**

_Dear Albus Dumbledore,_

_It has come to the attention of the ministry that you have neglected to hire a professor to fill the position for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Due to the unsatisfactory nature of the previous professors, we at the ministry would like to make a kind suggestion as to who you should select as your professor. We humbly realize that we have no say in who you chose for the position, but we would like you to consider hiring Dolores Umbridge to fill the vacant spot. She is a highly qualified witch, and has aptly served quite a long time at the ministry. Noting the high number of attempts the professors that fill this spot have made on the life of The-Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, we believe that she is a very stable and suitable choice. We would once again like to wish you the best of luck on your search for the next Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. If we are not informed of your selection by July Twenty-Third, we will assume that you have hired Dolores, and will act accordingly._

_Sincerely,_

_Minister Of Magis Cornelius Fudge_

**A/N: **This is my first fanfic, so please give me little snippits of constructive criticism about my writing style as a review. I know there isn't really a plot or characters to go off of yet, but I'd like at least one good review before continuing. I have no idea why anyone would do so now, but no flames, please.


	2. The Professor

**Regarding The DADA Professor...**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter, however, as soon as I get enough material for blackma... um... some FRIENDLY persuasion, I hopefully will.

Spells and writing are _italicized_

**Chapter 2:**

_**July 22 (One Week Later)**_

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was having a very bad day. Most of the people he had hastily sent owls to regarding teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts class had politely declined, saying something along the lines of someone in their extended family getting mauled by Unicorns and being in unstable condition or that they had suddenly come down with a rare but serious magical infection and were being treated at St. Mungo's. To the Headmaster's extreme dismay, he was quickly running out of qualified people to chose from.

A light tap on his window alerted him to the fact that during his moment of thought two more owls had arrived at his window. He quickly got up and let the pair in, noticing the worryingly small scrolls tied to their legs. Absentmindedly, he fed them both owl treats and removed the scrolls from their legs. Wandering back to his desk, he opened the heavier of the two scrolls hopefully, instantly noticing that it was from Augusta Longbottom. As he read the letter, his slightly hopeful smile quickly faded to a frown. "Oh dear," he said softly, "It seems Augusta is unwilling to take the position. If a witch as determined as her is afraid of this position, we might need to use our last resort." Turning to his nearby friend and phoenix, Fawkes, he asked, "What do you think, my boy?"

Fawkes responded with nothing more than an indignant ruffle of its feathers at being asked such a obvious question.

"Hmm," he said, turning to the nearby unopened scroll hopefully, a small twinkle coming to his eye, "I wonder what our friend Alastor has to say to the proposal?" As he opened the scroll, his brow arched and the twinkle in his eye came on in full force.

"Well, it appears that Alastor is unwilling to be re-hired," Albus said with a chuckle. On the scroll was simply written one large word in black, smeared ink. "NO!"

"Well then, I guess I will have to call in a favor from an old friend. I had sincerely hoped it would not come to this, but I am running out of time, and I know no one else who could be hired on such short notice.." Dumbledore said as he turned to the fire, throwing in a pinch of floo powder. "I sincerely doubt that Dolores Umbridge is being nominated by the ministry for her teaching skills. The minister is probably worried that I want his job."

"Leakey Cauldron Room 15," he called out softly as the fire turned green, quickly stepping into the fireplace, calling after himself, "Look after the office for me while I'm gone!"

As he quietly stepped out of the fire, Dumbledore carefully took in his surroundings. He was in a fairly small, relatively square room that gave off an aura of melancholy shabbiness, quite contrary to the normal aura of the bar it was situated above. This was probably due to the fact that, even in the middle of the day, An abnormally long hallway led off one side of the room towards the door. There was a dresser in one corner that looked like it was going to fall apart. A mirror was setting on top of it that was strangely foggy, and gave off no reflection. There was an ancient bed in another corner which was quite small and unadorned, and, strangely, looked like it had never been touched, despite its obvious age. The remaining corner, which was directly next to the window, was cloaked in shadow, although when Dumbledore squinted closely enough, he could make out a large leather armchair sitting squatly there. There was a fine layer of dust covering the room, indicating that it had not been disturbed in a while.

Dumbledore was about to dismiss the room as empty and leave, when a rustling of pages coming from the shadowed corner alerted him to the presence of another person in the room. Casting a quick _Lumos, _he noticed that there was a tall, masculine figure sitting in the armchair wearing a black hooded cloak that he had previously overlooked. He briefly wondered why the man had not noticed his presence, but then realized that the man was deeply engrossed in a large, old, leather-bound tome that had the words Dark Arts written on the front in spidery handwriting. Dumbledore waited a moment for the man to notice him, politely clearing his throat after waiting for a few minutes.

"Hm?" said the mysterious man in a warm baritone that seemed to clash with the overall mood of the room. "Ah, Dumbledore," the figure said amiably, a slight hint of a Franco-Russia-Australian (mixed) accent in his voice, " to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I have something to ask of you. I am in need of a teacher for the Defense Against the Dark Arts course at Hogwarts by tomorrow, and no one else I know that can be ready in that amount of time is willing. If I do not hire someone by exactly twelve o'clock tonight, the ministry will appoint Dolores Umbridge to fill the position. I am in dire need of a teacher, and would like to 'call in' that favor I owe you." Dumbledore said solemnly.

"Oh," said the figure slightly exaggeratedly, putting down his book on a table that Dumbledore was fairly certain had not been there previously, "Well, since you did clear my name that time, Azkaban is certainly nasty business, I do owe you a favor. Also, I have heard about that witch Dolores, and, to put it lightly, she's an evil little bitch with her wand shoved a little too far up her a-"

"That will be quite enough, I understand what you are trying to tell me." Dumbledore interrupted quickly.

"Basically," he continued, surprised at the outburst, "I would not trust that lady further than I could throw her, to use a muggle expression. Besides, I am in sore need of something exciting to do. But," he said with a pause, looking at Dumbledore slyly, "it seems there is something you're not telling me."

"Well, you see my boy, there is one catch, being the Defense professor would also entail that you would have to protect and train young Harry Potter." Dumbledore admitted grudgingly.

"Oh! Good!" said the man happily, much to Dumbledore's bewilderment, "I could use some action again! At least, I assume that you mean I will be protecting him from Voldemort, now that said evil lord has returned."

"Yes, but, tell me, how did you know that Voldemort has returned?"

"Come now Dumbledore," the man said with a chuckle, "you, of all people, should know that I have ways of finding things out. Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Since Voldemort is back, I feel that war is eminent. You must understand, before offering me the job, that I will be preparing the children for war, and the curriculum will most definitely deviate from the standard one, and will be considerably more rigorous."

Dumbledore nodded, "I understand that, and that is part of the reason that I am hiring you. I only have one request, and that is that you exercise reason the students. Please remember that they are only children."

The figure nodded in response, "I will try, Dumbledore, but I cannot make many promises. Besides, you seem to be perfectly fine with the way Severus teaches his potions courses, so, by comparison, mine should be fine."

"I assume this means that you will be teaching the course. There are multiple long forms to fill out, so I suggest that you come with me back to my office. " Dumbledore said happily, "Oh, by the way, the house elves will be preparing a room for you to stay in in the Gryffindor tower. You should pack up any of your belongings here so they can place them in your room. I will also notify the house elves of your culinary preferences, so you will not need to worry about that. I will be in my office waiting for you when you are finished."

With that, Dumbledore threw a handful of powder into the fire, stepping in and returning to his office. The mysterious figure looked around the room for a moment, deciding on what to take with him. With a flick of his wand, a trunk appeared on the floor in front of him, into which he piled a large number of extremely old books and a small assortment of interesting looking magical artifacts he pulled out of one of the dresser drawers. Walking up to a bare section of wall in the hallway, he whispered a few unlocking charms unique to that room, and reached into the hole in the wall that had become visible to pull out two large objects wrapped in cloth. Looking around the room one more time to make sure that nothing important was being left, he gave a satisfied nod, preparing to step into the fire. Turning around, he gave one last, slightly longing look to the room he had stayed in for so long. Then, just as quickly as he had hesitated, he turned back around and stepped into the fire with a hopeful smile, casting off the shadows of a life left behind.

**A/N: **And here ends the first real chapter of my first story. Hey, you see that little button at the bottom of the screen next to submit review? Doesn't it look lonely? You know... I think you should click it! Then it will be happy, I will be happy, and you will live a fuller and more satisfied life.


	3. The Attempted Kidnapping

**Regarding The DADA Professor...**

**Regarding The DADA Professor...**

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter is not mine, no matter how many lawsuits I try to file.

Spells and writing are _italicized_

**A/N:** Sorry if this chapter is of poorer quality than the last ones. It was kind of awkward, and hard to write for some reason. Plus, my brain is completely fried right now, and I'm misspelling words left and right. Thank god for spell check. If anyone wants to beta my work, let me know.

**Chapter 3:**

"Hurry Up Boy!" Vernon Dursley yelled to his nephew in law, Harry Potter. "It's time for you to fix us breakfast," he stated, as the boy walked into the dining room.

"Okay Uncle Vernon," Harry mumbled quietly as he began to fix the Dursley family's breakfast.

"And I want my eggs sunny side up this time," Vernon said gruffly, a slight hint of anger showing on his face, possibly from previous breakfasts in which his eggs had not been sunny side up.

If someone were to walk in on Harry at that instant, they would never guess that he was the savior of the wizarding world. He was a scrawny boy of medium height, wearing an old pair of glasses that looked as if they had been broke one too many times. His clothes were baggy, stretched, dirty, and hanging, as if they had not been bought for him, but were rather thoughtless hand-me-downs from an older or larger sibling. He had an extremely tired and dejected look on his face, as if he had nothing to live for at this particular point in time. His hair was messy and black, and looked like if he was to run a comb through it, the comb would break. Hiding under his hair was a distinct, lightning bolt shaped scar. Responding to a comment from his Uncle, he turned his head up, revealing deep, haunted, green eyes that gave someone the feeling that this particular boy had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Harry quickly finished making the family breakfast, years of experience helping him perfect it to an art. His Uncle's eggs were actually sunny side up today, but the large, rude man still looked like something was wrong with his food. After serving his Uncle, Aunt, and Cousin, Harry trudged over to the corner of the kitchen and ate the small amount of left over food that would be his breakfast. After about ten minutes, Harry's relatives were finished eating, and he began to take away their dirty dishes. As he was clearing the table, his Uncle stopped him with his arm. Surprised, Harry stopped and looked at him as he began talking.

"Now boy, we are running low on eggs, and I will be too busy with work to go to get any." Reaching into his back pocket,Vernon pulled out a five pound note and held it out to Harry. "Take this and go buy some eggs. Since this summer has been quiet so far, I will allow you to spend whatever is left on whatever you want."

Harry was quite surprised by Uncle Vernon's remarks. The man almost never allowed him out in public. Trusting him with money was a thing completely unheard of by his Uncle. Even more amazing was the fact that his Uncle had actually given him money to spend to his liking. Harry was uncertain of what to think at this strange and unaccustomed action, and was slightly wary of his Uncle's intentions. However, he was grateful at a chance to escape the house, and quickly finished clearing the table before taking the money his Uncle was handing him. As quickly as possible, he rushed out of the front door, and into the world of perfectly manicured lawns and identical houses that Number 5 Privet Drive was situated in.

It was a beautiful, cool summer day, and as he began to walk, Harry's spirits soared. Staring at the clouds floating by, he wistfully thought of playing Quidditch, of flying high and fast on his Firebolt. He thought about his friends, Ron and Hermonie. He thought about what the Weasley family would be doing right now. For a long while, he thought about Sirius, and wondered where his godfather was hiding currently. With a sigh of regret, he brought his thoughts back to reality as he left the development the Dursleys lived in behind, and arrived at the shopping center closest to his summer residence. As he headed to the entrance of the family grocery store, he was too preoccupied to notice the figure hiding in the shadows across the street, watching him silently.

When Harry finally left the store ten minutes later, he had gained a shopping bag with a carton of eggs and a Mars bar that he had been able to buy with the left over money. He slowly began meandering back to Privet Drive, reluctant to return to his Uncle's house any sooner than he had to. The day had slowly grown silent and menacing, the number of people in the surrounding area slowly dwindling. If he had been watchful, he would have noticed that the cloaked person shadowing him was slowly drawing closer, waiting for the right time to strike.

As Harry passed by the park close to his house, he suddenly became aware that he was completely alone. Even though the sun was still shining brightly, Harry could tell that something wasn't quite right, and began to walk more briskly towards Privet Drive. The figure shadowing him, sensing that its chance to capture the boy was slowly slipping away, hurriedly caught up. Harry, suddenly realizing that something was following him, turned around just in time to see the figure cast a silent stunning spell directly at his chest. Needless to say, Harry dropped like a rock. As the cloaked figure neared, Harry could do nothing more than put on a frightened expression and struggle against his magical entrapments.

Pulling back his hood with an evil cackle, Lucius Malfoy smirked in triumph. "Oh," he said, "Lord Voldemort will be so pleased with me. My plan worked perfectly! All I had to do was lure you out of the protective wards surrounding your house, and then I could kill you whenever I wanted!" Seeing Harry's eyes widen in understanding, he stated, "Yes, it was I who placed the idea in your Uncle's mind that you needed to go buy eggs for him. The perfect ruse, don't you think?" With a ponderous look in his eye, he continued, "Now all I have to do is figure out the best way to kill you. I know that Dumbledore's lackeys are somewhere around here, so this will, regretfully, have to be quick. Hmmm... I suppose that the Cruciatus curse, followed by a simple Reducto to the face will suffice."

As he raised his wand to cast the first spell, a dagger flew out of the woods surrounding the park and struck the Death Eater in the hand. Surprised by the unexpected pain, Lucius let out a sharp, quick cry. His wand forgotten on the ground next to him, he whirled around to search for his assailant, the dagger still embedded in his hand. Harry, just as shocked by the sudden turn of events, struggled against his magical binding, slowly managing to free his head from the spell.

Both of the wizards remained frozen in place for a long moment, scanning the forest in front of them for signs of life. Much to their surprise, a call of greeting came from the other side of the road, behind them. Lucius immediately whirled around to face his attacker. The first thing he noticed about the man was his long, black, hooded cloak that covered his whole body from view. The second thing that Lucius noticed about the man was that he was VERY tall. The Death Eater estimated that the man was at least a foot taller than he was. The last obvious feature that Lucius saw was the two large sheathed swords attached to his back. Judging from what he could see of them, the swords were both extremely old and highly decorated. One of the hilts was covered in gold inlay crusted with rubies and some of the largest pink diamonds he had ever seen. The other hilt had silver inlay, and was crusted with very large emeralds, and a beautiful green-tinted diamond that Lucius was sure was worth more than a large house. While Lucius was busy ogling the man's swords, he had leisurely walked across the road, and was patiently standing about ten feet away from the dark wizard and his captor when Lucius came to his senses.

"Sorry I'm late Harry," the man said, addressing the boy with a smile, "I was busy reading a very fascinating book." Turning to Lucius, he said coldly, "Release the boy peacefully, and I will not be forced to hurt you."

Against his better judgment, Lucius pulled the dagger out of his hand with a grimace and painfully picked up his wand. Turning to the cloaked man, he replied, in a slightly shaken tone, "Do you think it wise, going up against one of Voldemort's inner circle in a duel?"

"Oh yes," replied the man, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "I can tell from here that your struggling not to shit yourself, and your calm, collected appearance is nothing but a facade. Truthfully, the real question is, do you think it wise to go up against _me _in a duel?"

Once again ignoring his better judgment, Lucius painfully cast a pair of simple stunning spells at the man. Much to his surprise, the man was no longer standing in front of him. Hearing the gentle swish of a cloak behind him, Lucius spun around just in time to see the figure finish a wand movement and yell "_Pertificus Totalus_!" The Death Eater had no time to react, as the spell hit him squarely in the chest. Hitting the ground with a sickening thud, the once-captor became the captured, staring, terrified, at his mysterious captor. Walking up to the helpless man, a smirk audible in his voice, the man taunted, "Hmm, this situation looks familiar... where have I seen it before?" Feigning surprise, he said, "Oh yes, now I remember! You had poor Harry like this just a moment ago, didn't you?" Pausing for a second to let the irony sink in, he continued, "But I won't be as merciless as you were. No, I think a simple killing curse will be sufficient to kill you."

Whipping his wand out of his sleeve, he turned to the cruel, hateful man on the ground and mercilessly yelled, "_Avada Kedavra_!" As the light cleared, the people present noticed that the now deceased Death Eater had a look of surprise on his face. Briskly walking over to where Lucius was laying, the figure knelt down and examined the body for signs of life. Satisfied to find none, the man banished the body with a wave of his hand, presumably to the middle of a furnace somewhere far away.

Remembering his reason for fighting the Dark Wizard in the first place, the figure turned around and walked towards Harry, who was still lying stunned on the ground. With a quick flick of his wand, the man enervated Harry, and then carefully brought him to his feet. "Come on," the man said, "I have to return with you to headquarters quickly."

With a questioning look in his eyes, Harry tilted his head to the side and asked, "Sorry for being rude, but, who are you, and what is headquarters?"

Chuckling softly, the figure replied, " Why Harry, I'm surprised Dumbledore hasn't told you yet. 'Headquarters' is referring to the secret meeting location of the Order of the Phoenix, headed by Dumbledore himself. As for who I am, I am frankly once again surprised that Dumbledore has not told you yet." "I," he said with a grin in his voice and flourish of his hand, " am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

**A/N: **Now that the chapter is over, you know you want to review. Reviews are my lifeblood, and I need them badly!


	4. The Order Meeting

**Regarding The DADA Professor...**

**Disclaimer: **So far I haven't gotten sued, so I'm guessing that I'm ok.

Spells and writing are _italicized, _as are words being _emphasized_

**A/N:** Ugh! I hate writing slow chapters. I struggle soooo badly with them...

**Chapter 4:**

"Ah! Harry! It is so good to see you again my boy!" Dumbledore said with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye as Harry walked into Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, being led by the recently hired DADA professor. From the outside the house looked slightly plain and uninteresting, at least once one was part of the Fidelus and could see said house. When inside, however, most people, Harry included, were shocked to realize how grand the house must have once been.

Number 12, Grimmuald Place was an old house, one could tell as much by simply stepping inside it. It had been left empty for a very long period of time, and much of its obvious former grandeur had become diluted with age. A thick layer of dust had settled over everything in the house, making it seem even older than it probably was. Add to that the cobwebs covering most of the corners available and the ever-present clutter in most of the rooms, and the house looked derelict and gloomy. The tall, arching ceilings and long hallways that would have once made it seem imposing now only added to the sense of malevolent gloominess. The Order had recently selected it as their headquarters, and Molly Weasley was currently in the process of removing the dust from everything on the first floor, which did help its appearance some.

Giving Harry a push towards the staircase in the front hall leading up to the bedrooms, the Defense teacher said, almost tenderly, "Go pick a room from the ones upstairs. You will be staying here for the rest of the summer, so find one that is comfortable."

Seeing Harry's unintentional expression of disgust at the proposition, he laughed, saying "I know it isn't the best place to live, but it has to be better than the Dursley's, right?" Pausing for a second, he continued, "Besides, I hear that your godfather will be staying here as well." Seeing Harry's expression instantly turn from downtrodden to joyful, he chuckled softly to himself. Most of the people surrounding Harry had heard at one time or another about Harry's extreme devotion and loyalty to his godfather, but it still surprised everyone who witnessed it the degree to which that devotion extended.

Deciding he should probably discuss the day's events with Dumbledore, the Defense teacher once again gave Harry the slightest of pushes towards the stairs, saying, "You really do need to go pick a room, though. Just be careful, I am told that there is a boggart hiding somewhere around here." As Harry was leaving, the Professor called after him, "And Harry, do me a favor and get some sleep, you've had a _very_ long day!"

Turning back to Dumbledore, he said, "I know that we really need to get going with the order meeting, but I feel I should discuss the events pertaining to Harry's retrieval before I bring them up during the meeting."

"That's quite alright, I'm sure that the Order could wait a few minutes. Blood Pop?" offered Dumbledore.

" No, thank you though," The Professor declined graciously, "I don't have much of an appetite right now."

"I trust that you were able to procure Harry's belongings?" Dumbledore questioned the professor quickly.

"Yes, everything went as planned. His belongings were gathered and checked for curses, and his relatives have been dealt with non-hostilely. No, what I truly need to talk to you about was a _little_ snag I hit trying to alert Harry to my presence. It appears that Voldemort knows that Harry resides at the Dursley Home during the summer, and had ordered Lucius Malfoy to follow him. Malfoy took advantage of the situation I was going to use to talk to Harry alone as an opportunity to attack him. From his efforts, I gather that he was preparing to torture the poor boy, and possibly take him to Voldemort for execution." Shaking his head sadly, he added, "I find it sad to see the day when a wizard of Lucius' caliper stoops so low as to hit a child from behind with a stunning spell."

"Harry was not harmed, was he?" Dumbledore asked, concerned.

"No I managed to intercept the Death Eater before he could physically harm him. I would like to say though, that Lucius is no longer a threat to us. I have dealt with him properly."

"I hope you mean that you have given him to the ministry for imprisonment," stated Dumbledore warily.

"You know very well what I mean by that statement."

"Ah, yes," he said dejectedly, losing some of the ever-present twinkle in his eye, "You know that I highly disapprove of you murdering our enemies."

"Albus, if we keep arguing this point in the fashion that we have been, the war will be over before we have even decided what to do about it."

"Ah, well, I guess I just wanted to try once again." Dumbledore said, trying to lighten the now heavy mood, "I believe, however, that it is time to start the first meeting for the Order of the Phoenix since the previous war."

"Ah, indeed it is," the professor observed, "I presume that I will be entering second?"

"Of course, wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, now would we?"

"Well then," he said, flourishing his hand and bowing, "After you, good sir."

As they strode down the hallway, they failed to notice the five pairs of eyes following their movements from the upper landing on the staircase. As the door to the kitchen closed, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Fred and George Weasley, and Harry Potter all let out a joint held breath.

"Hey guys," Harry said turning to the rest of the group, "_What_ is the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Oh, um, Harry, it's an order Dumbledore created during the first war to help fight Voldemort's forces." Hermione replied hesitantly, "Number 12, the Black Family Ancestral Home, has become their headquarters as of recently."

"Wait," Harry interrupted, "This is Sirius' house?"

"Yes Harry, it is," Hermione said carefully, "Sirius is part of the order, and let us use his house."

"Wait, Hermione," Harry interrupted, "You said _us. _You all are part of the order? And you didn't TELL ME?!"

"Quiet Harry!" Fred and George said at almost the exact same time.

"We're sorry, mate," Ron interrupted, "we wanted to tell you, but Dumbledore said that we couldn't."

"Oh, um Harry," Hermione said, changing the topic, "What are you going to do with your stuff?" Hedwig hooted indignantly, feeling unappreciated. "And Hedwig too, of course."

"I'll put them in a room later." Harry said dismissively, "I only wish that there was some way that we could hear what was going on during that meeting."

" And that's why we're here," Fred butted in.

"This is our newest invention, the extendable ear." George said, pulling what looked like an ear attached to a string of flesh out of his pocket.

"You put this end into your ear, then say 'go'. The ear will crawl towards the conversation you want to listen to, and you will be able to hear it as well as if you were standing there." Fred explained proudly, grinning from ear to ear.

Eager to hear what was transpiring during the meeting, the group directed the ear towards the kitchen. As the ear wriggled closer to the kitchen door, the mumbling sounds coming from the device slowly got louder. Suddenly, it seemed, the voices became audible, and the group began listening with excited frenzy.

"...And due to the increased number of threats from the dark lord surrounding Hogwarts, I have carefully selected a teacher for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. Order of the Phoenix, may I present to you my distant relative, Sebastian Dumbledore."

This statement was quickly followed by a large number of gasps, and, from the number of thuds and crackling noises heard through the ear, probably Mad-Eye Moody firing off multiple spells. In the ensuing chaos, Harry turned to Hermione and asked, "I thought Dumbledore and Aberforth were the last of their line. And what was up with all the blatant shock?"

"I don't know," Hermione replied. As she turned to the Weasleys to question them on the matter, she was interrupted by a call from Dumbledore for order, and the group quickly focused back on the ear.

"Dumbledore," They heard Moody say accusingly, " Why would you hire HIM, of all people! Have you forgotten what he attempted to do after the war against Grindlewald?" Confused horribly by Moody's reaction, the group gave each other questioning looks before quickly returning to their eavesdropping.

"No," said Dumbledore with a sigh, "I have not forgotten, although I was hoping that you all could be a tad more forgiving towards him."

"But Albus," said Professor McGonagall in a troubled tone, "The stories that you have told us about what he did were... horrifying, at best!"

"I know, Minerva, but right now, we have no other choice. As you should have realized long ago, he is easily the most powerful wizard alive. As hesitant as I am to admit it, I am getting too old for all of this. I am slowly growing weaker, and we will desperately need his help in the coming war, especially with regards to protecting young Harry from Voldemort."

"I do not agree with you, Albus," Professor McGonagall said curtly, "But I am forced to concede in the face of your argument. My only worry is to him harming, or _affecting_ our students."

"Come now, Minerva," Sebastian's smooth voice cut in, "I would have thought that you had more faith in me than that.

"On that note," he said, pausing briefly, "I dislike it when people talk about me as if I had ceased to exist. If you are going to 'gossip' about me, please either include me in the discussion, or do it on your own time, preferably in private. Or, better yet, don't gossip in general."

A shocked silence reigned for a moment as the order members tried to comprehend the sheer audacity of the comment that was just made. After a moment, Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued on.

"Now we must discuss what to do about our young prodigy, Harry." He said, with a hint of concern in his voice. " Now that Voldemort is back, I'm afraid that sheltering him is going to be much harder than before..." A snort form Sebastian cut him off. Addressing the Professor, he asked politely, "You have something to say, Sebastian?"

"All I have to say is that you all are a bunch of morons." He said, disgustedly.

"And what is your basis for this accusation," Professor McGonagall said in an injured tone.

"Well, after hearing what had happened to the boy during his time at Hogwarts, I was still willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, however, after hearing what Albus just said, I no longer will. Look at you people! You sit here, fawning over this boy, worrying that your precious 'weapon' against Voldemort could be 'damaged'. Open your eyes! During his stay at Hogwarts, that boy has gone through more hardships that most people go though in their lives. He has matured far beyond his peers, and as such, is an outsider. He looks to you all constantly for guidance and friendship, and you all treat him like a fragile piece of china, being careful not to 'damage' him. _Your _negligence is driving him into a state depression. Sirius is the only one of you that he has a proper relationship with, and I am pained to think what would happen if he were to be caught or otherwise incapacitated. You all need to open up to Harry. Stop treating him like something delicate, and start treating him like a human being! The consequences otherwise could be horribly drastic. Just look at what he has done in his past years, and you will have to agree with me."

It was silent in the cramped kitchen as the order members contemplated their faults. Well, silent except the loud sobbing coming from Mrs. Weasley. Regardless, they were all being forced to realize the folly of their ways in a rather abrupt and painful manner, and it weighed heavily on all of them. Even outside the meeting, the group of eavesdroppers were silent as they all realized the horrible truth contained in Sebastian's words.

"Well then...Sebastian...what do you suggest?" questioned Dumbledore hesitantly.

"Simply allow me to train the boy. I can easily protect him from anything Voldemort throws at me. I probably know more about the Dark Arts than anyone here, so I can easily train him to defend himself against the Dark Lord. As an added bonus, I probably have had more social experience that anyone else here, so I can help him overcome his emotional instability."

"Than it's settled, Sebastian," Dumbledore said happily, " You will train young Harry while he is at school in whatever you see fit. I would like to remind you that, if the need arises, The other professors would be more than willing to help you with his training."

"Thank you for that offer." Sebastian said cheerfully, "Now, before we move on to other subjects, I think it is about time that we shoo Harry and our other young eavesdroppers off to their rooms."

In the chaos that ensued this statement, the group on the stairs looked back and forth from one another, all silently wondering how he had known that they were listening to the conversation.

**A/N:** I am so so so so so so so sorry that this took as long as it did. I really have no excuse. All I can say in my defense is that I got involved in a whole bunch of other stuff. School, the driver's ed, then work... it all just kinda piled up. Sorry .'

...Btw, reviewing is a VERY good thing to do... it encourages me to write more.


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